Author Archives: admin

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It's been said that customers decide whether to remain on a website within 8 seconds. Rather than dissecting the validity of the claim, let's examine the implications of this statement on your business. Why debate seconds when we can explore the truth behind the statistic?

First impressions online are as important (if not more) than meeting someone personally. Like a personal meeting, your guest scans you and your appearance for visual clues. Can this person benefit me in some way? Do I think we will share interests? What does this person think of me? The questions can be endless.

Let's translate this personal meeting to your website and its guests.

Can this person benefit me in some way?

On entering your website, customers should see instantly what you have to offer them. As tempting as it may be to show a fancy graphic, display your mission statement, or talk about how long you've been in business, few customers are interested in this. On the web, there are thousands of other search results, so make sure you make a valuable impression.

Give customers a reason to stay or connect with  you. What do online customers value?

  • Immediate and Free gifts
  • Valuable information or products
  • Sense of community

The easiest to implement and establish is providing your visitors with an immediate free gift. Offer your site visitors a discount (online or in your store) for joining your email list. This opens the value relationship focused on the visitor. Whether the person spends anything or not, by capturing the email address, you are now able to continue conversation with them until they are ready. Plus, having the email name on your file opens many more opportunities for monetization.

Check back for answers to the other questions.

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At the core of every business lies the same principle. Customers must generate more revenue for the business than is required to remain in business. Easily said, yet more difficult to accomplish.

Many businesses have relatively simple business models. Customers enter the store, website, etc. and leave having paid for some items. Managing that business model relies on very simple factors.

  • Constant flow of customers
  • Profitable pricing strategy
  • Effective conversion to purchase

Online, we have even more options. Of course we are all familiar with the ecommerce model made popular a decade earlier by Amazon. Yet, on the same website where we hope to produce product sales online, we have other options.

  • Cross-channel revenue
  • Passive-consumer profit
  • Affiliate business

The first step in any online strategy is to define the primary goal of the website. However, this need not be to the exclusion of any ancillary monetization strategy. The beauty here is if you fail at your primary objective, you may still produce revenue from the site visitor by another means.

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In the new online world, content is more than words on a page. A single bit of information is Editorial, User-Driven, Marketing and Market Research, all rolled into one. Writing content for the web differs greatly from traditional methods for magazines, books, catalogs and visual media. It requires different formats, skills and strategies.

Several skills are necessary for a successful online content strategy:

  • Writing for Web Consumption
  • Writing for Search Engine Optimization
  • Requesting and embracing User-Generated Content
  • Marketing products and services
  • And so much more!

The large list makes this new media sound like a tall order. Yet, we’ll find that with the proper strategy, and willingness to embrace the new media, producing excellent and successful online content is actually easier than traditional media!

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Email Marketing provides the most cost-effective means to communicate with customers. Whether you are trying to provide readers with excellent content, sell items directly to consumers, or just maintain regular contact to solidify the future sale, email is critical to this success.

Unfortunately, many people underestimate the value of email, and offer some common arguments keeping them from their own success.

  • I don’t have anything to say
  • People already get too much email
  • There isn’t enough time to email customers
  • Email marketing costs too much

These are all common misconceptions, which we’ll tackle individually.

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Welcome to Spartan eBusiness. Our goal is to create lasting successful business online, with expert and efficient tools and strategies. This is the introductory post, of what will become daily updates. We strive to provide small to medium-sized businesses and authors with the tips, tools, techniques and inspiration to capitalize on the success possible online.

  • Daily Tips for new programs and strategies to try.
  • Case-studies and examples of successful and effective programs you can do yourself
  • Commentary and guidance to bring the ever-evolving technology and strategies into focus

Plus, we’ll do our best to have a little fun along the way as well. Good luck!

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There are two things that always manage to bring a smile to my face. One is when I come home and am greeted with the resounding “Daddy(a)” from the kids as I enter the door. Priceless… The other is when someone launches a new website and expects everyone, I mean all 2 Billion people online, to come to the site. Tell me, why would someone who is interested in finding the best deal on knickers come to your site about where you talk about your latest struggle with the annoying Walmart greeter?

In both cases, the fleeting moment passes. My kids go back to fighting and whining, and everyone else keeps searching Google or Bing to find something useful. If you plan to find a way to make money, increase your exposure, or build a successful business online, it is imperative you find an audience.

There are some very simple steps to online success:

  • Define your audience
  • Create content suitable and interesting to your audience
  • Engage them so they come back over, and over, and over again

Let’s swing back to the kid analogy. I get home at roughly the same time each day. They respond in the same way each day as well. It doesn’t take a rocket-scientist to infer that people respond to regularity in a predictable way. How does this apply online? Very simple – “arrive home” every day at the same time and people will be there to meet you (if they care about you). If you put up new content Monday afternoon, Thursday evening and the Tuesday morning – why would you expect people to come look to see what you have to say?

Try as we might – people will always be creatures of habit. You can either ignore that, and post new items and news when you feel like it. Or, you can embrace human nature, put yourself on a schedule, and be online like clockwork. Trust me, it’s the step one in the recipe to success online.

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We can learn alot from the NFL, professional sports, and the businesses behind them. While I’m not really a fan myself, and don’t entirely understand the concept of Fantasy Sports, they are a rapidly growing phenomenon around the office and online. Basically, people gather together to create the list of players for their “team”. Then, the real-life players play their normal games, and these folks collect and review the real-life stats to count points for their virtual team.

Confusing, yes; Informative, definitely!

The growth of Fantasy Sports has produced an entirely new set of fans. People who weren’t really interested in the “atmosphere” of sports, sports bars, or Sunday parties with beer and pretzels are now finding an interest in the game. Well, not the game itself, but the stats. We can learn from why the outgrowth of Fantasy Sports has been a tremendous business decision to boost the NFL and other professional leagues.

Fantasy Sports Become Free Marketing

Whether someone was interested in the game, specific teams or the latest prison-drama, buzz and competition spreads in the Fantasy Leagues at the office, church, school or online community. Monday mornings are now filled with people talking about football, specific teams and individual players. Post-game talk and promotion is no longer limited to highlight reels on the local news or SportsCenter. Now, the conversation is extended throughout the week, and to new people by nature of the Fantasy game. And it doesn’t cost a dime!

Now anyone can be a fan

Let’s suppose for a moment you live in Cincinnati – as do I. Watching the local NFL team is much like going to the dentist – painful time spent lounging in a chair only to be told to come back for more pain later… Or, perhaps you live in an area where there is no professional team nearby. These scenarios both mean it’s likely a large portion of the potential viewing audience and licensed apparel customers may not have an active interest in the team or game.

But, get people interested and invested in Fantasy leagues, and they are now not only interested in one team – but EVERY team. Building this new network and game breaks down regional interest barriers, and gets individuals actively engaged in the game, regardless of how their local team plays.

It’s a money-making machine

The NFL already has some very powerful and successful businesses built upon it. Contacts with major networks for games bring direct revenue. Licensing deals with individual manufacturers and companies also secure ongoing money. Plus, expansion of cable and satellite options further expand the money-making potential.

As we discussed before, Fantasy leagues engage viewers in all games, rather than only one or two. So, watching the games on my local network isn’t enough if I want to be on top of my Fantasy league. Now, I need to subscribe to premium services on the television or internet to allow me to see how all games are progressing. Meaning – more people watching more football, equating to higher advertising dollars!

Plus, networks, leagues, and independent companies are shooting up like LA wildfires to put their own spin on a league with high prize values to the champion.

Great – Fantasy Sports are Genius – But what’s the point?

As I was writing this, I was thinking the same thing to myself. “Self, you’ve written a great item about football and fantasy sports. Now, how am I going to apply this  building business online?” For us, the key items to learn from this strategy are just under the surface.

Create a reason for increased engagement

We’d all love it if the entire world visited our site daily. But, unless we keep new reasons for someone to return, they won’t. Do everything in your power to keep fresh content daily. Plus, spread your website’s wings beyond your individual area of the world or business. Create an engaging game or “hunt” for tips, clues or items that force readers to dive more deeply into the content and the site. Perhaps you can create a contest where readers submit a content, questions, clues, etc. No matter what you offer, make sure you give a reason for people to keep coming back.

Get people invested

Let’s face it, not everyone is going to love what you had to say. But, most people love what they have to say. Actively find ways to give your readers a voice or opportunity to share what they have to offer. We all love talking about ourselves; let’s use that to our advantage. In the same way Fantasy sports make everyone a team owner and manager, we need to find ways to make everyone an author, publisher, expert, designer, etc.

Get people “marketing” for free

Recall the Monday morning conversations about who’s player did what on the field. Wouldn’t it be great if there could be watercooler discussions about what was going on in your world? Find a way to get people talking about what they found on your website. Perhaps you offer a weekly hunt for a typo, daily odd tip, or user-submitted joke. You could have your own little sect of followers who are looking to be the best at viewing your site.

Good Luck!

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The web started out as a tool for librarians, governments and other “exciting” folk to pass data. It wasn’t pretty, wasn’t “world-wide”, but was very functional. As you know, we’ve advanced well beyond the fledgling beginnings of the web. Now, users online typically use the web for these three primary purposes:

  1. Connecting + communicating with friends
  2. Shopping
  3. News + recent events

Think about where your website fits into these areas. Do you provide a means to connect with others? Do you offer readers guidance, price lists, or other information for products beyond your specific book? Do you share insightful views into current happenings and events?

If you answered, “well, a little”, you are not alone. Take a moment to select one of these three areas as your primary goal for the week.

You probably can’t offer a great communication and connection tool, so toss this one out now.

You may be able to provide readers with product reviews, price guides, or other useful information for people buying products. Remember, you can aid a reader’s quest to find a product as a guide, not just by selling the product.

You surely have opinions on the latest news items of the day. For instance, how has the Gulf Oil Spill affected you or your friends? Or, has the pending announcement of the latest unemployment stats had any impact on your spending? You get the picture…

You can learn alot from those you follow and read online. Take a page from their playbook and make it fit and help your own audience today.

Please share your experiences, struggles and success with the rest of us.